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Sunday, November 30, 2025 | Special Advertising Section 14%u201cShe%u2019s raising children,%u201d says Jewell,%u201cbut she%u2019s also a music teacher and onthe faculty of the Normal School (nowWestern Washington University). Musicwas like a religious passion for her; shefelt it was vital to a community's health.%u201dTo that end, Engberg cultivatedmusicianship. Many instrumentsweren%u2019t represented in Bellingham,so she encouraged students: Had thisyoung person heard of the bassoon? She was happy to buy them one. Shefurnished instruments to many aspiring musicians, all part of her dream to create a civic symphony.Spotlight on BellinghamEngberg made her debut as a violinistin 1903, in Copenhagen, and touredEurope extensively. During her yearsabroad, she struck up a friendship withrenowned violinist Maud Powell.In 1912, Engberg created the 50-member Davenport EngbergOrchestra in Bellingham. By 1917 %u2014having drawn Powell to perform onthree different occasions %u2014 Engberg%u2019s orchestra officially became theBellingham Symphony Orchestra.%u201cPowell was among the firstprominent violin soloists %u2014 possiblythe first of international stature %u2014 to perform on the West Coast,%u201d saysBellingham Symphony Orchestraviolinist and concertmaster DawnPosey. %u201cAnd Mary Davenport Engbergbrought her here.%u201dPosey learned of Engberg just lastyear, and the Powell connection toBellingham in the early 1900s. Sheimmediately shared it with BSOExecutive Director Gail Ridenour andMusic Director Yaniv Attar. %u201cI had been planning a differentconcerto for our summerperformances,%u201d Posey says, %u201cbut learning that Maud Powell had playedMendelssohn in Bellingham, I wantedto do the same, to honor her.%u201d%u201cWhen Dawn told us the story ofMadame Engberg, we knew instantly how special the connections were,%u201dsays Ridenour, who inspired an exhibitcurrently on display at the WhatcomMuseum celebrating Madame Engberg and the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra%u2019s history.Having left her musical mark onBellingham, Engberg went on to createthe Seattle Civic Symphony Orchestrain 1921, nurturing local talent for theSeattle Symphony Orchestra, whichshe then conducted through 1924. Shefounded the Engberg School of Musicin Seattle and continued teaching violinuntil her death in 1951.A legacy that continuesPerhaps Engberg%u2019s most enduringcontribution wasn%u2019t her pioneeringleadership %u2014 it was her understanding of what music means to a community. In a frontier town still defining itself, she SPONSORED CONTENTPROVIDED BY BELLINGHAM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAMore than a century ago, when theclatter of horse-drawn carriages stillechoed along Bellingham%u2019s streets,music lovers gathered in the small but growing city to witness something remarkable %u2014 a symphony orchestraconducted by a woman.Her name was Mary Davenport Engberg, and in 1910 she becameone of the first women in the UnitedStates %u2014 and the first in Washington%u2014 to conduct a professional orchestracomposed of both men and women.Long before the term %u201cglass ceiling%u201dentered our vocabulary, Engbergquietly shattered it in the classicalmusic world with her baton.%u201cMadame Engberg would inspiregenerations of musicians inBellingham,%u201d says Jeff Jewell, WhatcomMuseum archivist and researcher.Today%u2019s Bellingham SymphonyOrchestra audiences no longer arriveby streetcar or wear feathered hats, butthe purpose of gathering remains the same: to experience something human and transcendent, together.A high-society woman who alsowanted a careerA violinist and composer, Engbergwas part of Bellingham high societyand its women's clubs.\run their homes; they spent the money of their rich husbands %u2014 captains oflocal industry %u2014 and directed it to thecommunity good,%u201d Jewell says. ButEngberg stood apart in that she alsochose, and very much wanted, to work.One woman%u2019s baton set Bellingham%u2019s musical future in motionThe Bellingham SymphonyOrchestra has been sharing liveclassical music with its communityfor more than 50 years %u2014 andis looking forward to the nextfive decades. Learn more at bellinghamsymphony.org.\rich husbands %u2014 captains of local industry %u2014 and directed it to the community good,%u201dJeff Jewell says. (Stacee Sledge photo)%u201cMadame Engberg would inspire generations of musicians in Bellingham,%u201d says Jeff Jewell, Whatcom Museum archivist and researcher. (Stacee Sledge photo)used music to draw people together, to lift spirits and to offer moments ofbeauty amid uncertainty. That same spirit remains alive inBellingham today. The Bellingham Symphony Orchestra is a thriving ensemble and resident orchestra of thehistoric Mount Baker Theatre.And much like world-famous MaudPowell was drawn to perform in Bellingham, Yo-Yo Ma takes the stagewith the BSO in April 2026, inspired by its longstanding %u201cHarmony fromDiscord%u201d series, which focuses onmusic that transcends oppression andraises historically oppressed voicesand composers.When Engberg lifted her baton inBeck%u2019s Theatre more than a century ago, she wasn%u2019t just conductingmusicians; she was conducting a vision%u2014 a belief that beauty and belongingcould bloom through music. That beliefstill resonates every time the music begins.